


Cause She's A 90's Woman

by xAglow



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 90's women, Alternate Universe, BAMF Hermione Granger, Black Hermione Granger, Cure For Lycanthropy, Female Character of Color, Gen, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-07
Updated: 2015-11-07
Packaged: 2018-04-30 11:17:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5161877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xAglow/pseuds/xAglow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is just a bamf!Hermione story and how I think she'd cure Lycanthropy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Process

**Author's Note:**

> This has not been beta read. It's 4:53 am and I just thought about this Lycanthropy cure 3 hours ago and pumped this out. 
> 
> Hermione is and forever shall be a woman of colour for me. I have read many arguments for this and I think it it beautiful and wonderful.

It occurred to Hermione when she was in 3rd year that she should cure Lycanthropy. The notion that this was something beyond her wasn’t even entertained. She was a smart young woman of the 90’s and damn the lot if anyone thought she couldn’t do anything she put her mind to (as her mother was fond of pointing out). The idea came to her because of her DADA teacher, Remus Lupin. The poor man suffered, not just form the curse itself, but also from prejudice. This was something Hermione could not abide. 

The young witch knew a little bit about what it meant to be seen for something you weren’t based on arbitrarily conditions. The magical world saw her as less for being a muggle born. The muggle world saw people like her dad as less for being black and they saw her as even less for being a _woman_ of colour. If she could help people like Professor Lupin find a safe place in society again than she ought to work just as hard towards that as she did in proving her worth to the two worlds she inhabited. But how to start? 

She filled over a dozen notebooks full of visual observations of Professor Lupin during that year. She had ample time to do this because of the time turner, but it did make her awfully tired, stretched her a bit further than either her or Professor McGonagall had thought she would be. The fight that year with Ron allowed for more Professor Lupin watching since the boys weren’t really around and Hermione took solace in that when the fight had stretched longer than she thought their friendship could take. 

She mirrored her journals off some anthropological and scientific journals she had her mom send by owl. Daily observations included anything from mood, health, calorie intake (as far as she could see during meals) and physical activity. By the terms end she was overly adept and knowing all of Professor Lupin ticks, and most all his facial expressions. Those latter taking some time because the man was frustratingly reserved. 

She was never going to be able to look Professor Snape in the eyes again after an incident where he’d caught her watching Professor Lupin. She’d been writing about the werewolf’s mood. Those entries were the least scientific sounding. They were fluffier and tended to sound a bit poetic if she was in a mood for the frivolity. She had been that day and so when Snape had taken her notebook she had cringed as he proceeded to read it. Hermione wasn’t all to surprise by the scandalized eyebrow the potions master raised at her and the 20-point loss was likewise expected. She got her notebook back almost immediately too, the Professor acting as if it was a particularly offensive device from Zonko’s. 

That summer, between her 3rd and 4th year, Hermione complied all her information. Her parents had indulged her project by buying her books on statistics, data and the scientific process. She took information from all the days and marked them to the moon phases and as well as when the Professor would have taken the Wolfsbane Potion. The Professor’s health was the most surprising data point. All her reading on werewolves showed that they were the healthiest people (St Mungo’s hospital records 1800-1900), but Professor Lupin was one of the sickest people she’d ever met. Hermione looked at everything that public records could give her around health stats in werewolf’s to try and figure this out. Here she found a discrepancy of sorts. 

It seemed that Werewolves (from now on noted as WW) were split into two types. The ones that took the Potion and those that didn’t. Clear indications showed hospital visits from non-potion taking WW’s were strictly injury based visits. Those instances were rare and hospital addendums on charts indicated things such as malnutrition and other problems accosted with poor living circumstances (the inference being that these WW’s were in established packs living ‘in the wild’). Those WW’s that came in with flu’s and other general unwell complaints all indicated some level of societal involvement (or attempt at one) and regular use of the Wolfsbane Potion. There was even a case where a WW had had Dragon Pox! Unheard of in any medical history that Hermione could find. WW’s should be immune to the disease (Hermione followed this road of inquiry not from someone studying WW’s, but someone studying Dragon Pox. It was interesting reading until it got to some graphic and highly unethical experiments done on WW’s to see about finding a cure for Dragon Pox.) 

It was at the beginning of 4th year that Hermione felt comfortable in determining that the Wolfsbane Potion (here on known as the WP) was where she needed to focus. Her study of the Professors general health leading up to the full moon correlated with a downward turn in wellness. More specifically though it was on the day that he would (feasibly) be taking the WP that his health began to decline. At this point Hermione started reading as many books as she could on the WP. It seemed to be, unfortunately, that the potion was a fluke. As with most things in history, its discovery was by happenstance and so its complicated brewing process was a cause of following the meticulous notes of a mistake. There was no real study into what made it work, just that it did seemed to be enough for the wizarding community. 

That wasn’t entirely fair. As upset over the complacence with the magical world as she was, Hermione did read that a few witches and wizards had made small changes to the WP to make it slightly easier to brew (and less expensive). A few ingredients had been cut and a few had been replaced. Hermione took very clear and very precise notes on the changes over the years, an idea half formed in her mind. 

With all this ambiguity surrounding the potions effectiveness Hermione was left with a gaping question. Where was the curse housed in the body? Take cancer in muggles for example. Very important images were taken to locate and determine where the cancer was so that the correct radiations and chemotherapies could be used at the site of the cancer. Even Dragon Pox had been identified as a magical Virus, running along the magic currents of a person and attacking various elements of the body through those channels. So where did the WW cures travel? From where did it attack a person?

Despite her vow never to look Professor Snape in the eyes again she was left with no other option after Harry’s 2nd challenge that year. She had exhausted all other avenues of research and she needed more information. She’d come across Professor Snape’s edit of the WP near the beginning of her research. He seemed to have been the last person to make any really headway into the potion and it was only to correct some stir times, directions of stirs, and the implementation of a silver knife in the preparation of the hyssop. Overall his changes had taken off nearly an hours time in preparing the potions, making it both more manageable to make and easier at the same time. 

“Sir? I have a few questions –” Hermione tired on day after Potions class. 

“Shocking,” The dour man had interrupted. “Miss Granger has a question. Must you insist on your foolish hand waving even after class has ended?” He’d grumbled at her from behind his desk at the front of the classroom.

Hermione bit her lip and tried for some patients as the last of the students left them alone. She knew she was going to need a level head seeing as she was about to broach a topic that she knew wasn’t his favorite, “It’s about the Wolfsbane Potion, Sir.” She ventured calmly. 

If possible the lines of his shoulders had tensed more than usually, “Is this about your ridiculous schoolgirl crush” – he says this last with absolute distain – “of the wolf, Lupin?” His overall demeaning indicated a spiritual deep pain at having to talk about this with the young Gryffindor. 

Hermione had expected this, but still couldn’t help the near full body blush that overcame her. Opting not to bother wasting time trying to deny it, she instead elected to get back on track to her actual question. She said in a rush, “I’ve been doing a lot of research and your paper from 1990 showed some interesting changes to the Wolfsbane Potion and I was wondering if I could talk to you about your process.”

There had been silence for a good minute following this, nothing but Professor Snape’s incredulous gaze on her.

“I have no doubt you have questions considering the level that that paper was written at.” He said hurtfully. “I’m sure you only managed to understand the abstract and parts of the discussion with any level of comprehension.” 

This was just more of him baiting her, she told herself before taking a few deep breaths and said, “I was particularly interesting in your use of the silver knife on the hyssop. I wanted to ask if there was any particular reason you sought to change that particular element or if it was more a trial and error… thing…” She trailed off, already cringing at her choice of phrasing.

“Trial and error…” He’d said looking down his nose at her. 

“I just mean, I’m trying to pin down where and what the potion is effecting with real success and what’s superfluous. If, in your research, you found any indicators that you didn’t write in your paper or…” She’d huffed out.

Her Professor had just looked at her then, a level of assessment that was surprisingly devoid of rancor, “The hyssop, you said?”

Hermione jumped at the chance, “I think that the Potion is effective because it working on the immune system and that’s were the curse works from.” She blurted. Her hypothesis was one not one else she’d found had drawn. She needed to get out how she’d gotten there before he could cut her off again so she continued just as fast, “I say this for a few reasons, but foremost because those werewolf’s that take the Potion always seem to be prone to illness, were those that don’t are healthy as a horses, more so even. The cures itself, by all accounts, looks to make a person near immune to all illnesses, magical and muggle alike, unless they take the Potion. I also note that the Potion works on muggles. That means it has to work on systems that are open to muggles. Some academics have posed that it’s a magical virus like Dragon Pox or Vanishing Sickness, but those don’t affect muggles because they don’t have the magical channels that witches and wizards have. And since the Potion is proven to work on muggles then it has to be effecting something that muggles have.”

That had been enough to get Snape to take her seriously. She seemed to have made a few leaps he hadn’t, but he’d been ruminating over the problem enough and he had the same data she did so could see the correlations she’d made. Ron had berated her over telling that ‘Greasy Git’ her idea because he was sure their Professor was going to steal it and not credit Hermione. She didn’t listen to this too much, but she did drop in for tea with Professor McGonagall later that same week to talk about her project and her hope that with Professor Snape now looking in the same direction the two of them could come up with something real. Hermione was an optimist, but she wasn’t an idiot. She’d seen the avarice look that Professor Snape had had when he’d almost gotten that Order of Merlin first class last year. 

It was odd to be owling a Professor over the summer holidays leading up to her 5th year, but Snape and her kept in contact with ideas and the like. Things were especially odd with the shuffle to the Orders Headquarters were Snape would drop in once in a while and Hermione and him would chat about their ideas. They did keep their project a secret from Remus and the others. Hermione didn’t know what motivated the secrecy on his part, but Hermione didn’t want anyone to know until they were closer to something meaningful. Snape’s work for the order and Molly’s demand that the children clean the Black House meant that not much headway was made those last few weeks of summer. Worse was how busy they both were during the school year. Umbridge and the DA club meant that Hermione’s project took a seat on the back burner until the following summer. 

It was during that summer that Hermione and Snape managed only 2 letters to each other on their respective ideas. Snape had left her a few articles to read for inspiration, but it was clear he didn’t have the time (or inclination?) to do much more on this project. Hermione was fine with that because even with what he’d been able to give her she was even more convinced then ever that a real cure was out there if one looked at curing the curse form the immune system. The only breakthrough they were able to establish that it was the Wolfsbane flower that caused normally medicinal immune boosting ingredients to act as targeted suppressants on the curse.

Pulling out the changes that had been made to the WP over the year Hermione identified the ones that directly related to the immune system. Two such changes had been the use of Royal Jelly and Usnea. Both of these elements had parallels to helping the immunes system, but where just off enough from them directly. These had marginal effects, but if keeping with her hypothesis then Hermione figured that these might be better off being Honey and perhaps an Irish moss. Running the arithmancy and sending her findings to professor Snape had been anticlimactic. He did not get back to her till the beginning of the year. All his reply said was that the math checked out and he was willing to try brewing it and had a werewolf willing to test it. He didn’t indicate if said werewolf was Remus or not and Hermione fretted a bit, not wanting the first test to happen on her old professor. 

The test was both an absolute success and an unmitigated failure. A few changes aside from the honey and moss, caused the potion to in fact stop the transformation completely, but caused a near fatal pneumonia after the full moon and 4 days (two days less than the normal administration time) of taking the potion. The werewolf (not Remus) was still had the curse, but the potion variation had gone a step above quieting the wolf mind and blocked the transformation altogether. Snape and her concluded that the curse really did affect the immune system and the Irish moss they’d used had affected the lungs so ‘well’ that the werewolf had been susceptible to a lung infection bad enough to almost kill him. From this they also concluded that they might not be able to cure lycanthropy without destroying the person’s immune system in the process.

In frustration Snape had given up, busy as well with Order business. Hermione was an optimist and wanted to find something that could mean a cure. After looking into it she discovered that a dissection of age and illness with the use of the WP showed an increase decline in health the longer one had been a WW. With new hope she took these findings to Snape, but he was far too busy for her. Dumbledore was likewise busy and so Hermione went to the only other person she could think of, Professor Slughorn. 

To say he was floored by her research was an understatement. The man wasn’t a genius like Snape, but he did know people, people that could get her in contact with a relatively new werewolf that was willing to try the new potion variation. Taking what she learnt from the last potion variation Hermione made a few more changes (approved by Slughorn) that had a more balanced ingredient base for all the parts of the human body, glands, organs, etc and their relating immune system related aids. With Slughorn’s help she brewed the potion (whittled down to one dose) and they gave it to a volunteer who’d been a werewolf for only 3 months. That full moon he did not change and after being under observation for the following week, was determined healthy enough. There were no signs of complete immune system repression that caused the last werewolf to develop the lung infection. The only downside was he was still infected with the virus, the potion variation having not cured him, only suppressed the symptoms. Hermione was able to draw a line on when it was no longer safe to take the potion variation she’d created due to complete immune system suppression, but the one dose administration did help in extending that line out as far as 10 years. 

Hermione’s published work made headlines across the world. It was right before she was about to publish that Dumbledore called her into his office to have a word with her. 

He spoke softly and with some sadness, “You cannot cite Severus, Professor Snape, as having helped you.”

“What?”

“My dear, the war is at a very critical stage right now. You cannot know what your contribution has done in drawing soldiers away from Voldemort’s forces, and the Order is beyond thrilled. Professor Snape is likewise excited, but his position with the Voldemort means that he cannot be linked to this.”

“I… see.” Hermione said from across the Headmaster’s desk. She slumped a little further into her chair, thinking. “He really was an incredible aid in this entire process. He checked and corrected large portions of my math and was an irreplaceable sounding board. I can’t not give him credit. It feels wrong to say otherwise, Headmaster.” 

Dumbledore had smiled at her kindly, “As admiral as that is, it does not change the circumstance, Miss Granger. To cite him would mean loosing our spy at least,” He said moving forward in his chair, “and his death at worst.” He said this last steepling his fingers under his chin and looking over his half-moon glasses at her. 

“I can’t say it was all me!” Hermione pressed. 

“Would you feel comfortable saying someone else helped you? Remus, perhaps, seeing as he seems to have been the starting board from which you started this all from?” 

Hermione bit her lip, “I… guess.” She said doubtfully, knowing that Snape wouldn’t appreciate Remus taking his credit. 

Correctly guessing Hermione’s reticence Dumbledore said carefully, “Perhaps you might cite me as your, sounding board?” 

If it was anyone else Hermione would have thought this a very slytherin move in trying to get credit for something, but that wasn’t who Dumbledore was. “He does respect you…” She ventured.

“Perhaps a softer blow then?”

“Yes.” Hermione said with more conviction. 

And so it went that Dumbledore and Slughorn went on her paper as having helped create this new Wolfsbane Potion variation. Once all was said and done it was almost the end of the year and then it was the end of the year and finding a full cure hit the back (way back) burner for defeating Voldemort. 

It was never far from her mind, the cure. She had a small journal she worked in while she was on watch and was stuck on figuring out Dumbledore’s clue for her. Then there was the final battle, a battle that would have been far worse if, as Dumbledore had guess, there been more werewolves fighting on Voldemort’s side. After the battle there was so much that need to be done to get the government back into working (non-corrupt) order. 

It was about half a year after the Battle of Hogwarts that Hermione was able to really sit with what she’d brainstormed for a cure. It took another 6 months before she had it. As with anything for this whole process, Hermione’s final product was a cure, but an incomplete one. As with the variation she’d creating having a viability capping at 10 years, her cure would only work for people who’d been bitten within 3 year. Anything after and the damage to the immune system from removing the curse would be too great and the person would be left fatally vulnerable to any passing cold. A mixed blessing, but seeing Voldemort had pushed for so many to be turned as punishment during the war the cure was seen as a miracle and new hope for a full cure one day.


	2. The Speech

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I may or may not be reading "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Paulo Freire...

Hermione was awarded an Order of Merlin First Class. She was also nominated for and won the Wizarding Honorary Award of Excellence by the Global Magical Community Federation. This later award was hosted in Geneva, Switzerland and Hermione was given time for a speech. This is what she had to say to the Global Community of Magic.

At the beginning of 1997 I lied to the world about who helped me develop the first variation of the Wolfsbane Potion that would later become the cure we have today. I lied because the man that was instrumental in helping me was a spy and could not have been seen as doing anything that would negatively impact the plans of a madman. The cure and this award are dedicated to Severus Snape, without whom I wouldn’t have gotten past my nose.

*The crowd laughs and applauds for a moment to mart the dedication.*

I’ve been interviewed many times since I started showing results for this project. Putting aside the condescending journalistic rhetoric that paints me as having done something great – for a muggle born – or being an absolute genius – for a witch – or for having dedicating so much time towards this admiral goal – but to the detriment of my love life.

*The crowd laughs lightly at this.*

For all these interviews I’m always asked why I wanted to do it. I’m not sure what else to say other than, “It was the right thing to do,” or some variation thereof. But I think I have a better answer for you today. 

I know what prejudice looks like. I know what it is to be looked at and be seen for the colour of my skin, for my gender, or for my blood status. 

*At this last Hermione lifts her arm to show the carved word MUDBLOOD on her arm. There are nervous whispers in he crowd.*

I still have freedoms enough to fight these injustices to my person and fight them I do and forever will until I no longer have to. The werewolf communities of the world do not have even that much. They are so strongly ostracized that there is no recourse for them. They have no voice. The fear of werewolves is so great that they have been completely dehumanized by society. Where the moon took away their humanity once a month, the world took the rest the other 348 days a year.

I’m going to ask you something and I need you all to be honest with yourselves.

*More nervous whispering* 

What are you afraid of more? Being torn apart by a werewolf on the full moon, or being bit and turning? 

*Hermione waits and sees many in the crowd looking uncomfortable*

If you’re honest with yourself than you’d know that your real fear comes from being bitten and turned. We as a society have turned that into the worst fate imaginable. So, what if I take away that fear? What if you no longer get to hold onto that fear of being bitten and turned? All you have to do is make your way to a hospital within 3 years of the bite and it’ll be like it never happened. What now that I’ve unburdened you of that fear?

*The crowd is quiet*

There is no longer any reason for the barbaric laws surrounding those afflicted with lycanthropy. The fear we once had, our reason, has been taken away. Now is the time for meaningful reflection and action. I say this because from meaningful reflection you’ll see that these men, women, and children are humans. You will see that you cannot escape the responsibility to them and action will necessarily follow. Change is our responsibility. Not just for them, but with them, together. Solidarity as humans! We can work with these people to get not just their lives back, but the humanity they’ve had taken away from them.

*The crowd applauds the end of the speech. Its galvanizing nature has called a great many of them out. There is an uncomfortable air of guilt that borders on defensiveness, but the directional nature of the speech - its hope for change - tips them over towards something more positive.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just some canonical timeline stuff for my and your reference. Hermione was born Sept 19th 1979. She would be going to school in 1991, at age 12. 1992 – she would be 13 and in her 2nd year. 1993 – she would be 14 and in her 3rd year. 1994 – she would be 15 and in her 4th year. 1995 – she would be 16 and in her 5th year. 1996 – she would be 17 and in her 6th year. 1997 – she would be 18 and would have been in her 7th year. 1998 – she would be 19 in the year after the war.
> 
> Also, if you seen any glaring mistakes (please!!) let me know so I can change them and make this a better read :)


End file.
